ANDREW PIERCE: Boris Johnson’s supporters grow more restive than ever after Labour’s lead soars to 23 points as the Tories struggle with immigration issues

Yet another difficult week for the Tories over immigration issues has seen Labour’s lead soar to 23 points — and Boris Johnson’s supporters are now more restive than ever.

‘Conservative MPs need to put country and party first and send in letters of no confidence,’ says David Campbell Bannerman, chairman of the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO), which was launched to campaign for traditional Tory values after Boris was toppled last year.

His call-to-arms against PM Rishi Sunak came amid rumours at the weekend that the number of such letters submitted to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, had hit 30. The rebels need to take that total up to 53 to trigger a vote on Sunak’s leadership.

Meanwhile, the CDO is also calling for an inquiry into the shady circumstances surrounding Boris’s dethroning. 

Citing Nadine Dorries’ claims in her book The Plot, CDO president Lord Cruddas says: ‘The book’s revelations are deeply troubling. They suggest a pattern of undemocratic practices, including manipulation of party processes and potential breaches of ethical standards by a few senior people in our party.’

Boris Johnson’s supporters are more restive than ever, amid rumours at the weekend that the number of no confidence letters submitted to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, had hit 30, writes ANDREW PIERCE

Conservative Democratic Organisation president Lord Cruddas urges party supporters to sit on their cheque books until their demands are met

He urges party supporters to sit on their cheque books until the demands are met. Not that it will have much effect. There is more chance of the Tories winning the Election than Rishi agreeing to an inquiry into Boris’s departure.

Don’t expect Ofcom chair Lord Grade to intervene to save Newsnight from cuts. The Tory peer told the Voice Of The Listener & Viewer conference that he watches every BBC news bulletin, including ‘Snoozenight’. Ouch! 

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting assures Left-wingers that he’ll never sell off any of the NHS to the private sector ‘because after 13 years of Conservative government, no one’s actually prepared to buy it’. 

Is your time up, James?

One odd detail about new Home Secretary James Cleverly: he wears two watches. A leftover from his time as globetrotting foreign secretary to remind him of local time and the time back in London? Or a reminder to himself that his time as a minister may be running short? 

Home Secretary James Cleverly wears two watches

Former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage may be in the I’m A Celebrity jungle but he’s still got his finger on the pulse.

Addressing the habits of certain members of the House of Lords, he said: ‘You get £300 [in fact £342] a day for turning up. I went to the Lords two months ago. A guy I served with in Brussels [in the European Parliament]… invited me to lunch. I said: ‘What’s it like here?’ He said: ‘It’s the best retirement home in the country… I do a bit of paperwork, sign for the money, go for lunch in the subsidised dining room.’ He’ll go to the House of Lords at 2.30pm for the opening of debates… then p*** off home. That’s it, done.’

At the Spectator’s political awards last week, former chancellor Sajid Javid mocked new Foreign Secretary David Cameron’s multi-million-pound endeavours overseas after he resigned as prime minister in 2016: ‘I still remember the first words you said to me when I walked into your office — Ni hao [Chinese for hello].’ 

MP John Nicolson asked Channel 4 chairman Sir Ian Cheshire at the culture select committee about privatising C4. John said: ‘You guys must have been tearing your hair out.’ Ian replied: ‘Exactly, succeeded.’ He is nearly bald. 

The perfect card for Keir…

We may be in the season of goodwill but it doesn’t extend to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy, Angela Rayner. 

This year’s best-selling Christmas card at Tory Party HQ features Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner singing the refrain ‘All I want for Christmas is EU’

Tory Party HQ’s fastest-selling Christmas card this year features the odd couple as two carol singers trilling the refrain: ‘All I want for Christmas is EU.’ 

Meanwhile, the question of when to put up the Christmas tree divides the nation and, it would seem, Labour MP Jess Phillips’ household. ‘If you put up your tree before the 15th I think you’ve lost the run of yourselves,’ she says.

‘My husband thinks anything before the 24th is grotesque.’

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